


Rogue Interdictus

by Revenant_Zero



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)
Genre: Batarians, F/F, F/M, Female Shepard - Freeform, Garrus Vakarian - Freeform, Grunt - Freeform, Jack - Freeform, Kasumi Goto - Freeform, Legion - Freeform, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, Mercenaries, Miranda Lawson - Freeform, Mordin Solus - Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Original Human Characters - Freeform, Post-Mass Effect 3, Quarians, SW:TOR Armor Designs, SWTOR References, Samara/Morinth, Specters - Freeform, Star Wars EU References, Star Wars Ship Designs, Time Travel, Turians, Zaeed Massani - Freeform, original non-human characters - Freeform, tali'zorah vas normandy - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-06 03:51:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17932325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Revenant_Zero/pseuds/Revenant_Zero
Summary: What do a Turian Spectre on a mission, a secretive Quarian with a dark past, a human Ex-soldier, a Batarian mercenary hunting his old crew, and a Time Traveler with strange powers have in common with each other? As romances develop among them, it slowly dawns on the rag tag group that they have far more in common than they could have ever realized. With the Galaxy distracted by the threat of the Reapers, a new threat puts its insidious plot into motion, forcing the Spectre to work with Commander Shepard on occasion and assemble a unique team to combat these new intruders.





	1. Prologue

Space is vast. So much had still yet to be explained... So much had still yet to be discovered... There would always be something in the far reaches of the universe that defied rational explanation. Something hidden within  the depths at the edge of the Galaxies, and in those unfathomable depths, something that had been lurking in the darkness far beyond any charted territory, slowly stirred.

It was a moon.

Far beyond the Star System's last lonely planet, hung a cold, dead moon. It reflected a strange light, but there was no warmth to be drawn from the brightness, nothing but cold that could eat through to the soul, cocooning it in ice. Frozen over by the unforgiving cold of space, long since forgotten in its solitary wandering, and forever doomed to an eternity of frozen solitude, the moon was the perfect hiding place. Especially for a lone spacecraft.

The nebula behind the planet was especially spectacular, a direct contrast of the bleak, lifeless planet before it. Here, all life began. All life was born of these intricate cosmic gasses. Clouds of elegant, ionized purple gasses clashed and mingled with wisps and blotches of exquisite crimson red clouds, along with the void of space and its innumerable stars, a dazzlingly artistic clash forever frozen in time.

Without warning, the inert gasses violently roiled and churned, their artistic value lost forever now as the prow of a Spaceship insidiously penetrated through the once serene nebula, violently thrusting clouds out of the way as it silently crept out from its hiding place. Forever leaving a scar upon the violated frozen storm. 

Now no longer obscured by the nebula, the ship had been revealed in all its glory, and it was huge. Modeled directly after the  **Imperial Light Cruiser** , there were only a few variations to the overall design. The  _Interdictus_  had been painted an ominous black, instead of the bland light-grey color it normally had. It wasn't a glossy black either, but a malevolent midnight black that somehow took on the very color of nothingness, seemingly sucking in all light into it's cold, frightening depths.

The ship was much longer than the model it had been based off of, with dimensions around 900 meters in length, 270 meters in height, and fit for a crew of 60 to 70 people, while also housing numerous other spaceships. This gave the ship a noticeably dagger-like shape. 

In addition to the multiple quad laser turrets on the port and starboard sides of the spacecraft, and four double-barreled Heavy Atron Turbo-Cannons the ship had on the deck of the spacecraft; there were two pivoting Mark-3 Tachyon Beam Lasers in front of the double-barreled Turbo-Cannons that were capable of near 360 degree rotation and sustained penetrating laser fire for a full three seconds. Atop the main hull was a small T-shaped command tower, with two quad laser turrets flanking it. On the back were 3 large sublight engines with an enclosed triangular plating on the engines and a Light Drive. 

The  _Interdictus_  slowly passed by the planet with a sinister grace, ominously silent and malevolent.

It did not belong in this universe. It should never have come here.


	2. Enemy Unknown

Vaerex Quin’ion gazed out into the vast expanse of space, his arms folded behind his back. A stern and imposing statue compared to the rest of the crew. As a typical male of the Turian species, Vaerex’s features were avian, making them resemble humanoid birds or raptors. He stood over six feet tall, had two long, proportionately thick fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand tipped with talons, and a set of mandibles around his mouths. His body was completely covered in a black, metallic carapace with white elaborate tattoos on his face to mark his colony of origin.

He bore many scars underneath an equally battle-scarred Medium Colossus Armor. It was his pride as a Spectre, agents entrusted with extraordinary authority by the Citadel Council, including the power of life and death over the inhabitants of the galaxy. Vaerex let out a quiet exhale.

“Troubled?”

Vaerex turned around, his face a blank mask compared to the struggle within. A human casually strode up to the Turian Spectre, one of the many stationed aboard the Fortitude. Since his grandfather’s direct involvement with the Relay 314 Incident, Vaerex brought it upon himself to personally select human crew members to help bridge the gap and ease the mistrust between their races. Everyone on his ship had earned their place, especially his second in command, Aiden Thren.

Aiden Thren was average sized for a human, and had an exemplary military background. Though he was no longer in the military due to Vaerex requesting him to join the crew of the  _Fortitude_ , small things such as posture and the human military salute never left him. Nor did Aiden's sense of style. His hair was always buzz cut short, he wore combat boots and military slacks no matter where he went. His dog-tags jangled as he stepped closer to the Turian.

“No.” He replied to the human standing before him, turning back towards the window and letting out another sigh. “Yes.”

He hated admitting that something as simple as a reconnaissance mission made him nervous. He had earned his first scar in a reconnaissance mission, and not only that, lost a lot of people that day due to his error in judgement. It was something that would stay with him forever.

“Scanners still report absolutely nothing.” Aiden reported to him. “I could make reports on the hour if it would help ease the tension.”

It would, and Vaerex’s only response was a nod. He was sure Aiden could see his reflection. Once again, he was left alone with his thoughts and anxiety. He didn’t have long. Aiden’s frantic voice announced itself over the intercoms.

“Captain! Our sensors just picked up a ship. It’s heading our way now!”

“Hail it. Slow it down, open fire immediately if any hostility occurs. Warn them of this as well.”

“Aye aye sir.”

Vaerex strode to the Chief Helmsman’s control center, each step measured and betraying no signs of any further anticipation than necessary. Strangely, the scar over his right arm ached.

“What is the status of the unknown ship?” Vaerex addressed Chief Helmsman Meetra.

Meetra Hunjan was a small, petite human, barely coming up to Vaerex’s hip when standing at full attention. She ran her fingers through her hair, a sign she too was nervous. The ship outside their central window was of average size, most likely a shipping freighter. That did not ease Vaerex’s suspicions. The ship was damaged, with scorch marks and portions of the hull missing. It had just been in a firefight.

“We’re hailing them now, sir.” Meetra looked back at her captain before switching on the communications. “Unknown ship, you are in Sector Delta Three, power down your engines and identify yourself immediately. Failure to do so will be considered an act of aggression, and you will be fired upon.”

Vaerex nearly let out an audible sigh of relief as the ship slowed to a halt and a communications frequency was established.

“This is Martin Rhodes, captain of the shipping frigate Elysium. We don’t have much time, you’ll have company soon, we were hit by pirates. Our weapons are disabled, and we can barely hold together as it is. We need either E-vac or Escort to the nearest settlement.”

Vaerex nodded to Meetra. She told the captain that E-vac assistance was on its way. Vaerex informed the crew to begin with whatever evacuation assistance was required and for the rest of the crew to get ready for combat. Sure enough, three Batarian cruisers showed up, they had the Grim Skulls logo painted on their ships. The Fortitude was ready. The moment they fired upon the first ship, the other two scattered immediately, considering their target a lost cause. The Fortitude held its fire. No use in wasting ammo on fleeing transports.

It had been over just as quickly as it had started. This was nothing new. Unlike what most humans—and a few other races—believed, most space battles were relatively short, taking only minutes for one side to achieve victory. There were generally no “dog-fights” like the movies portrayed unless the ships were single unit fighters in a war situation. In all his years of being a Spectre, Vaerex had only been in one such dog-fight.

E-vac was then under way. The Crew of the Fortitude assisted the crew of the Elysium in transporting their cargo and supplies over to the cargo hold. Crew members flocked to the ship, some were taken immediately to the infirmary while others passed and or had already patched up their wounds. Captain Rhodes walked up to Vaerex.

The captain was an imposing man, standing at around 6’1’’, and did not slouch in the strength department. He was a fighter, even though he was not of military background, he most certainly looked the part.

“Captain Martin Rhodes.”

“Vaerex Quin’ion, Alliance Spectre.” Vaerex introduced himself formally. “Where were you and your crew supposed to drop off your cargo at?”

“Eden Prime, sir.” Captain Rhodes explained. “It was a routine cargo relay that got intercepted by pirates. They seem to be getting bolder and bolder.”

“You’re lucky. We were just finishing up our surveillance of the area and heading to Eden Prime. Give it one or two more hours and we can safely ferry you and your cargo to Eden Prime with us.” Vaerex nodded to Captain Rhodes.

Due to the sensitive nature of the reconnaissance mission, he could not elaborate much more than what he had just told the captain. The same went with his crew.

“Thank you.” Captain Rhodes extended his hand. Vaerex shook it as a sign of trust. “I don’t know if we can repay you, most of our cargo was damaged in the fight, and what’s left won’t be much more than the bare minimum to requisition a new cargo freighter.”

“It is not necessary.” Vaerex dismissed the offer. “There is food and drink in the cafeteria on level two, I am positive my crew would be happy to accommodate yours.”

Captain Rhodes thanked Vaerex once more before he left the Spectre with Meetra. She was like a daughter to the crew, small, peppy, and very protective of her artwork. Nobody took her for granted, nor did they give her any trouble. She had made it clear to the others that she was quite as capable as they were in hand-to-hand combat.

“That went well.” Meetra spoke up with a small smile.

“I am glad it did.” Vaerex nodded.

“I’ll chart us a course to the nearest Mass Relay now.” Meetra turned back around and began punching coordinates into the console. “We should be there within three to four hours barring anything new happening.”

“Let us hope for the best.”

It was more of a good luck saying than an actual hope. Vaerex left Meetra to herself as she piloted the ship, seeking out Captain Rhodes to see how he and his crew were adjusting to the ship. The  _Fortitude_ had been built to model the original  _SSV Normandy_ in appearance, and it's internal layout was primarily the same. He found the Captain in the cafeteria fraternizing with some of the off-duty members in engineering.

“Captain Rhodes.” Vaerex addressed the smiling Captain. “I take it you have adjusted well?”

“Absolutely.” Captain Rhodes nodded in earnest. “Most of my injured crew are even expected to be back in top shape in a week.”

“That is good to hear.” Vaerex told him before addressing one of the engineers. “Sam. How are the repairs on the replacement drive coming along?”

“We’re ahead of schedule sir.” Sam told Vaerex the good news. “We should have it done before we hit Eden Prime.”

“Good.” Vaerex nodded. “I must return to the flight deck.”

“Oh!” Sam shot up immediately. “If that’s the case, you don’t mind asking Helmsman Hunjan if she want’s me to bring anything up from the cafeteria for her…”

Vaerex wanted to smile at this but nodded instead while keeping a straight face. He headed back towards the flight deck as the crew bustled about.

“How is everything up in here?” Vaerex asked as he entered the room. “Sam asked if you wanted anything brought up from the cafeteria.”

Meetra smiled as she turned around to face her Captain, trying to hide the redness around her ears. “I’m fine for now, was planning on having something at Eden Prime anyways.”

Vaerex already knew of Sam and Meetra’s tentative relationship. It was obvious to most of the other staff as well. Rather than spare her the embarrassment of an awkward situation, Vaerex smoothly changed the topic.

“You have family on Eden Prime, is that correct?”

“I do.” Meetra bounced around a little as she turned to face him. “I was hoping to stop by for a quick dinner as we refueled and helped the crew of the Elysium get settled in.”

Vaerex had overheard Meetra talking with Sam about her family once. Apparently, they were simple Quantum Communications Specialists that dealt with keeping relays and communications separate from each other. Essential to nearly every civilian sector. Vaerex noted that Meetra hadn’t been to Eden Prime in years, and most communications to her family were by Quantum Entanglement Communications.

“I don’t have a problem with that.” Vaerex walked a little closer to her. “How is everything looking out there?”

Everything’s all clear, we’re on a trajectory straight for the nearest Mass Relay.” Meetra whirled around in her seat to face Vaerex. “We’ll be there within a couple of hours.”

“Good.” Vaerex nodded.

The rambunctious blaring of the small alarm coming from the red-flashing main console jarred the two out of their peaceful conversation. Vaerex strode over and Meetra wheeled back around to figure out what the warning meant. They were about to have company.

“We’re on an intercept course. Unknown object approaching 70 degrees parallel to our current course.” Meetra hardly looked up as she began punching in commands to the computer trying to figure out why it went haywire. “Our stealth systems couldn’t pick it up till it got within radar sensors.”

Meetra put out a ship-wide alert of the situation so the crew could react accordingly to whatever occurred next. Crew began arming procedures to the main guns on the ship, awaiting calculations for firing solutions from the _Fortitude’s_ command center.

“What is it?” Vaerex looked down at the console. “Where did it come from?”

“No idea, too small for our scanners to detect.” Meetra shrugged. “Whatever it is, it’s really moving. Contact ETA in 30 seconds tops.”

Meetra was on the spot with her timing. Not a moment later, a ship blasted into view directly outside of their starboard window and veered past the _Fortitude_ with an impressive burst of speed. It was a single, short range fighter of unknown design. Vaerex crossed his arms behind his back. There weren’t any know star bases or space facilities in the area, so where had it come from?

“Whoa, did you see that?!” Meetra exclaimed, completely awestruck by the fighter’s movements. “A move like that would’ve wrecked any other ship! It looks designed for quick maneuvers.”

The small fighter had shot to the left in an almost 90-degree angle, forcing the _Fortitude_ to overshoot their target in an instant and correct their course. Vaerex had never seen a ship design like the one they were currently tailing. Having been modeled after the **TIE/IN interceptor** , the ship featured four very recognizable pointed solar panels and a spherical cockpit for a single pilot.

“Trail it and try to hail them down.” Vaerex ordered sternly as Meetra put them back on course.

After several attempts to hail the strange ship, Vaerex suddenly realized that a fighter that small couldn’t have gotten so deep into space all on its own. Perhaps there was another ship inbound now.

“Meetra! Jam their transmissions!” Vaerex nearly lost his stern composure.

He warned Meetra to be on the lookout for any other ships in the area coming after this one. She got the memo and began her assault. The fighter careened straight up, forcing the _Fortitude_ to correct their trajectory once more.

“This fucker’s booking it…” Meetra cursed through gritted teeth. “That’s one hell of a pilot.”

“Can we clip a wing or one of their engines to slow them down without damaging anything else?” Vaerex agreed, staring at the LADAR resolution of the ship. “A ship that small won’t have any kinetic barriers on it.”

“I don’t know.” Meetra shook her head. “Ship’s pretty small, calculations could take a moment due to its speed and erratic maneuvering.”

Meetra sent out the command immediately. The gunners began their calculations which employed powerful prediction algorithms to guess at where the enemy is going to be and then fire at that spot. Vaerex watched with anticipation as the calculations were automatically relayed back to the cockpit and began to read out on the monitors. Once they were done, a single 20-kilo ferrous slug would be fired at the ship’s main thruster in a glancing action. The ship swerved to the right. Calculations were automatically adjusted. Three, two, one… A single shot fired off from one of the cannons.

Vaerex’s mouth hung open as the fighter nimbly evaded the round like it had been a warning shot.

“That’s…” Vaerex trailed off.

“Not possible…” Meetra finished.

It shouldn’t have been possible for a fighter to move that fast. Had the fighter already been preforming the evasive maneuver, Vaerex would have credited the round missing with the enemy pilot having extraordinary luck. This, however, was a single maneuver the moment the cannon had fired. The round had breezed past the fighter, inches away from the cockpit. Nothing reacted that quickly with such precision. Not even A.I. constructs.

“Have them fire again, this time centralize the shots around the four corners.” Vaerex quickly got over his shock. “I don’t care if we miss, two of these shots are going to hit.”

The fighter suddenly whipped around in a full 180-degree Immelmann turn. It was coming straight for them. Meetra adjusted the course right on time as four green beams shot from the cannons on the fighter’s wing tips. Blasts shook the ship and multiple alarms began blaring.

“Jesus fuck!” Meetra gnashed her teeth. “That went straight through our shielding! Reactor core three has been damaged!”

“Have the crew turn it off now!”

Orders were relayed and the leaking reactor was quarantined. The rest of the cannons boomed into action right on cue. This time, the fighter spun through all four of the rounds and strafed the _Fortitude_ diagonally, opening fire and damaging part of the combat center.

“Hull breach in sector three!” Meetra cried out, frantically pressing a command in the console. “Airlocks now engaged!”

“Send out an emergency signal!” Vaerex shouted over the roar of the chaos. “Tell them we’re engaged with an unknown individual possessing anti-spacecraft weaponry.”

Meetra relayed the message as the gunners fired off another volley do deter the small fighter. Now that it knew its weapon systems could penetrate the _Fortitude_ ’s hull, it had gone on the offensive. It was far to fast for the targeting systems to track. Another volley barraged the ship.

Fires broke out, men and woman screamed as areas lost pressure and were sucked into the vacuum of space, the ship shuddered in protest. They needed to stop this thing. Now. Men screamed as they were engulfed in a volatile flurry of fire and radiation from the second engine core. Meetra effortlessly locked the room down and sent it into a quarantine.

The crew fired volley after volley at the small fighter, but it evaded everything the threw at it. With an ingenious command, Vaerex told Meetra to have two Disrupter Torpedo’s collide near the fighter. Two Javelin disruptor torpedo launchers fired at the small fighter in a criss-cross pattern, deliberately colliding their payloads to maximize the area of their attack. The fighter banked left a moment after, but this time Meetra had been prepared, having the crew arm the other cannons. Their calculations focused on the fighter and a single round clipped the wing and brushed the stabilizer.

It wasn’t down for the count, but the fighter wouldn’t be pulling anything too fast on them. The _Fortitude_ was easily able to dodge the volley of green lasers the fighter slung at it. They had it on the ropes, and the fighter began to flee the scene, no longer interested or able to attack the ship. The crew readied another round.

Calculations and predictions flashed on the screen, and Vaerex watched with bated breath. Three, they were in line with the ship… Two, guns lined up their target… One, the small fighter began to fly in an erratic pattern, but it was much less intense than before…

The guns fired.

The ship fired off the final round, clipping the engines on the small fighter and leaving it stranded in space. The Fortitude was catching up to it quickly. Meetra scanned the ship, but it seemed that something was throwing off their sensors.

“Aiden, give me a status report.” Vaerex asked over the console. “How badly were we hit?”

“Sectors 1 and 3 are heavily damaged but quarantined. Engine cores 1 and 2 are damaged and leaking heavy amounts of radiation, luckily Meetra had those quarantines installed or we would have fried. The rest of the ship is experiencing minor fires, but most of it remains intact. We lost a few good men and women back there.”

Vaerex rubbed his right arm unintentionally, something that did not go unnoticed by the Meetra. She was about to speak up, but Vaerex spoke first.

“What can you tell me about that ship outside.?”

“I can’t tell what type of weaponry is on that thing, something’s interfering with the scanner.” Meetra warned Vaerex. “All I can see are the four small cannons on its wingtips. Whatever those things fired at us shredded through our shields and hull like a hot knife through butter.”

“Caution noted.” Vaerex nodded in response. “What’s the status of the ship?”

“That was a clean hit.” Meetra announced to Vaerex. “Scans show minimal damage, nothing vital to life support nor strong enough to do anything more than put the ship’s engine out of commission.”

Good. Vaerex was pleased to hear that they would be able to find out what this thing was, and what it was possibly doing out in the middle of nowhere space.

“Bring the ship around and unlock the boarding station.” Vaerex ordered before getting on the communications. “All crew assigned to the Fortitude, prepa—”

A brilliant flash of light blinded both Vaerex and Meetra, forcing them to look away and shield their eyes.

“Fuck!” Meetra cursed as she rubbed her eyes.

 The sound of shrapnel bouncing off the ship’s shields indicated what had happened. The fighter had detonated without warning, possibly as an attempt to deter any attempt to analyze it.

“Damn!” Vaerex lost composure. “Scan for any more inbound threats!”

“Someone didn’t want us taking that thing.” Meetra began a search. “We’re still clear.”

Vaerex frowned. His mission turned up nothing, but he would have to report this in person. The only witness to the fighter’s strange design was Meetra herself. He would have to brief her personally.

“Meetra. What I tell you does not leave this room. You are not to speak of this to anyone but myself if I request your input. Do you understand?”

Vaerex’s voice was more than just stern. This was him not as her captain, but as a Spectre. Whatever he was about to tell her was more than simply classified information, it meant that one slip up could land her in a citadel holding cell at the very least. It gave Vaerex explicit permission to silence her if needed. Meetra wanted to say no, to make sure that this conversation never happened, but Vaerex’s tone left no room for debate.

“I do.” Meetra said without a hint of fear.

“Three days ago, the council has been getting reports of scouting ships being completely annihilated.” Vaerex explained to her. “These ships have a classified purpose. Every black box we have received from the wreckage indicate a massive gravitational anomaly before sudden destruction. I believe this ship may have been involved with this. You and I will report this to the council the moment we get to the Citadel.”

“I understand.” Meetra nodded solemnly.

“Thank you.” Vaerex’s tone lightened up considerably. “Once this is over, or at the very least, once the meeting is over, the crew will be briefed in its entirety.”

“I understand, sir.” Meetra repeated.

“Get some rest.” Vaerex placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Meetra had no doubt been awake for nearly 20 hours. “I would like to fly from here on out.”

Meetra nodded and then told Vaerex that she preferred sleeping in the cockpit. Something about being in it made her feel more at ease than being anywhere else on the ship. Fortunately, Vaerex was an understanding captain, and let her do what she needed to get an adequate rest.

“Aiden, report to the flight deck immediately.” Vaerex ordered over the intercom.

Aiden was quick to jump into action, arriving at the cockpit in mere moments. He saluted Vaerex with a stern face.

“Sir.” Aiden acknowledged Vaerex.

“Due to the nature of our encounter, we are to head immediately to the Citadel.” Vaerex explained to his second in command. “Tell the crew of the Elysium of our sudden change in plans.”

“Yes sir.” Aiden replied before leaving the room.

Vaerex looked over to Meetra’s sleeping form. Her face twitched into a frown in her sleep. Had he been too extreme with her? Now that he looked back on it, Vaerex agreed that he had overplayed the confidentiality of his mission. He didn’t want to startle her, but at the same time, he too was on edge. Huh? A piece of wreckage floated by the ship. Luckily, he had taken the time to brief Meetra and inform the crew about their change in plans before he had set the ship back on course. Vaerex ordered a crew to salvage the wreckage and bring it inside the ship, telling Aiden to take over and head for the Mass Relay.

Vaerex strode down to inspect the wreckage, gliding by most of the anxious crew members with tact ease. When the wreckage was wheeled onto the main cargo hold, Vaerex realized that it was part of the fighter’s cockpit. There must have been a malfunction with the explosives.

“Be careful with that!” Vaerex snapped to the team wheeling it in. “That fighter self-detonated, and there may be a malfunction with its systems if this piece is still intact.”

The engineering crew activated their omni-tools and began to scan the piece of the cockpit for any information as to what type of technology this ship had carried. Vaerex left them to their work. Aiden’s voice over the intercoms announced that they would reach the Mass Relay in less than twenty minutes. Vaerex couldn’t help but feel nervous.

Even as he sat at the main flight computer, Vaerex couldn’t seem to relax. Something kept him on edge. He couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Meetra as well. She had been so excited to see her family, he would have to see about returning to Eden Prime after the meeting. Vaerex sighed, this counted for two “dog-fights” he had been in.

Down in the engineering hold, researchers finished up their initial scans and began transporting the data from their omni-tools to the main computers, unaware that a small red light on one of the parts in the salvage began blinking softly.


End file.
